Whenever ordinance is involved in a fire, the potential damage to persons and property involved is increased. In an effort to minimize the possibility of the explosive damage under such circumstances, methods and materials have been suggested to insure that any warheads present are so constructed that involvement in a fire will not result in a high order explosion. Thus, high explosive materials for warheads have been specified which will melt or burn or otherwise be harmlessly dissipated in an open fire environment.
In general, the problem of providing warheads which will survive the open fire environment has been successfully accomplished. However, when the warhead has been armed with the insertion of the fuze and booster or detonating material, the possibility of the booster or detonating material initiating a high order explosion is greatly increased. In some ordinance, the fuze and booster can be placed at the last minute before firing or before loading on an aircraft but, when the warhead is encased in a missile housing it is impractical to delay final assembly until the missile is to be used.